Chandigarh News

Punjab ex-DGP approaches High Court on security

2008-07-09T03:59:00.000-07:00

Punjab's former Director-General of Police S S Virk approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court for restoration of security cover earlier provided to him and his family.

In his petition, Virk, currently posted as DGP (Housing) in Maharashtra, submitted that he and his family were entitled security cover under the rules regulating the security arrangements of former DGPs.

The petition said he and his family faced "serious threats" to their lives from militant outfits since the time when terrorism existed in Punjab.

Punjab DGP, Additional DGP (Security) and Additional DGP (Armed Police) have been made respondents in the petition.

The High Court fixed July 7 as the date for next hearing in the matter.

Punjab highlights police sacrifices

2008-07-01T04:44:00.000-07:00

CHANDIGARH: State pleas are seldom mounted on an emotional platform and especially so when the matter relates to the functioning of the police department. But in a notable exception, the state of Punjab has mounted a rather sentimental challenge to a high court order whereby the CBI was directed to carry out a probe into "encounter killings" during the heyday of militancy.

The state has taken special umbrage to Punjab and Haryana High Court judge Ranjit Singh’s observation that "if one is to look around, one may not be able to find many officers in Punjab police who are free from taints and who could be entrusted with investigation and expected to be independent".

Raising the pitch and finding the observation not in keeping with the ground realities, the state, in its appeal filed against the order, has highlighted the fact that as many as 1,281 police officers fell prey to the demon of terrorism that shook the state not so long ago.

The appeal also asserted that the judge’s observation, if accepted sans protest, would dampen the morale of the state police force that had played an exemplary role in quelling the terror and bringing back normalcy to the state.

The appeal stated that top police officers like Julio Reberio, DS Mangat, AS Atwal, AS Brar, Gobind Ram and judicial officers like HR Kaushik and NS Prashar were targeted, as were many others. It also said, there were unabated brutal killings of common people which led to the police launching many major operations in cooperation with the army and paramilitary forces.

Given the extraordinary situation that posed a grave threat to country’s integrity, the police never compromised on gallantry and lost quite a few of its brave sons, the appeal mentioned.

The appeal raised a vital point as to whether the court could direct the CBI to conduct a probe without state’s consent. It was hammered in the appeal that the issue was still under consideration of the apex court following its judgment in the ‘State of West Bengal Vs Committee for Protection of Democratic Rights (2006 SCC)’.

Moreover, the appeal highlighted that the judge’s remarks against Vigilance Bureau were uncalled for as the bureau had nothing to do with cases related to militancy and probed only corruption cases. Zeroing in on the issue of proclaimed offenders who were still to be traced, the state asserted that due procedure had always been followed to nab them.

The state also questioned the motive and conduct of Satwant Singh Manak, a former cop dismissed from service due to laxity, in moving the high court where he raised the plea of "10 encounter killings" by some Punjab cops during militancy era.

The cops accused by Manak, including Bachan Singh Randhawa, who is currently posted as assistant commandant of 4 IRB in Kapurthala, have already challenged justice Ranjit Singh’s order.

Emkay upgrades Unitech to BUY; cuts price estimate

2008-07-01T04:42:00.000-07:00

Emkay Shares and Stock brokers upgraded BUY rating on Unitech with a price target of Rs 237 as against current market price of Rs 171 (June 30).

Unitech reported its Q4FY08 and FY08 results which were lower than broking houses estimates.

During Q4FY08, the company reported revenue of Rs 11.6 billion as compared to Rs 15.9 billion in Q4FY07.

However, Q4FY07 includes revenue and net profit of Rs 9 billion and Rs 4.5 billion from the stake sale in commercial property to United Corporate Park. Therefore, on like-to-like basis the company`s revenue increased by 67.8%. For FY08, the company reported revenue of Rs 41.4 billion and net profit of Rs16.2 billion. After adjusting for revenue and net profit recognition from UCP stake sale in FY07, revenue and net profit increased by 120% and 174% respectively. Driven by higher interest rate regime in the near term, we are increasing our WACC assumption from 15% earlier to 17%. The broking house, therefore, downgraded NAV estimates for Unitech from Rs 313 to Rs 296.

The broking house there shall be near term problems in the real estate segment due to higher interest rate, both for the home buyer and the developer. The broking house is revising target price from Rs 362 to Rs 237. Its new target price is based on 20% discount to the NAV, which is in-line with international companies (primarily China based).

The company has 55 million sq ft under development of which 30 million sq ft is in the residential segment. The company intends to launch projects in Southern India, NCR, Mohali andKolkata to the tune of 40millionsqft in the next 12-15 months.

During FY08, the company sold 7 million sq ft in the residential segment. Customer
advances, which reflect the pre-sales that the company does in the residential segment, increased from Rs 45 billion in FY07 to Rs 71 billion in FY08.

Due to higher construction cost, land bank payments and payment for fees of telecom licensee, net debt increased from Rs 29.5 billion in FY07 to Rs 71 billion in FY08. As of FY08, net gearing stands at 1.9x. The management stated in the conference call that it intends to reduce net gearing to 1.1-1.2x, which will essentially be led by stake sale in the telecom business and lower land acquisition payment in FY08. Average cost of debt for FY07 and FY08 were 10.8% and 12.05% respectively.

Having invested Rs 16 billion in telecom business the company has expressed its intention not to infuse any further capital into this business. The company intends to divest 26% stake in the venture and raise fresh capital for the expansion in the telecom segment.

The management has guided for Rs 30 billion of construction cost in FY08 as compared to Rs18 billion in FY07. Its numbers factor in construction cost of Rs 33 billion for FY08. For FY08, the company expects Rs 8.1 billion of interest cost, including interest that will becapitalized on account of commercial properties.

Unitech`s unpaid land bank stands at Rs 40 billion to be over next few years of the land bank payment (which is required to be paid to the government) will be paid on revenue accruing basis as well. The company does not intend to add to further landbank, expect for few lucrative deals that may come across in future.

The broking house is revising their NAV estimates for Unitech from Rs 313 to Rs 296. ``Our downward revision of the NAV is on account of increase in WACC assumption from 15% to 17%. We are also revising our target price downward from Rs 362 to Rs 237. Our new target price is based on 20% discount to the NAV``, the broking house said while commenting on company`s valuation.

Sikh body blocks rail traffic in Punjab

2008-06-25T05:38:00.001-07:00

Chandigarh, Jun 25: Activists of Damdami Taksal and other Sikh organisations today blocked rail traffic at various places in Punjab, demanding the arrest of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

The 'Rail roko' call was given by the Damdami Taksal following the killing of a member of the Sikh community by the security guard of Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh in Mumbai recently evoking strong protests in Punjab and elsewhere. Shouting slogans activists blocked the train traffic by squatting on the track near the railway stations.

Passenger trains were stopped at the railway stations in Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Sangrur, Ferozepur, Mansa, Bhatinda and Rampura Phull while seven trains were cancelled in Amritsar. Traffic on the Delhi-Bhatinda-Ferozepur section was totally disrupted, reports received here said. However, there was no report of any damage caused to the railway property.

Trains that were stopped included Shatabadi Express, Superfast Express, Sachkhand Express, Dadar Express, Jammu Express, Chattisgarh Express and Moori Express. Ferozepur-Mumbai Express was stranded at Mansa and Ferozepur-Delhi express train at Ferozepur. Demosntrations were held at some places in Ludhiana where the activists burnt the Dera Sacha Sauda chief in effigy. They also blocked Ludhiana-Chandigarh road.

The Chandigarh Administration is planning to develop a world-class equestrian sport facility in the institutional area of Sarangpur

2008-06-19T02:19:00.000-07:00

Punjab Governor and UT Administrator Gen (Retd) SF Rodrigues today asked the members of Equestrian and Equine Development Association to extend their partnership and professional expertise in this endeavour.

The UT Administration has planned full range of equestrian activities on 23 acres of land in the institutional area, offering various facilities and combining it with tourism.

After seeing a presentation given by the Equestrian and Equine Development Association, led by Col JS Virk, Secretary of Indian Polo Association and Col Sarpartap Singh, Secretary General Equestrian Federation of India, for developing Equestrian Sports in Chandigarh, Gen Rodrigues said that the equestrian facility must be planned and developed, keeping in view the needs of the region and the supportive infrastructure requirements for organising various national and international events.

''There is a need of designing and creating facility for horse breeding and stabling equipped with latest state-of-art technologies,'' Gen Rodrigues said.

He asked the Finance Secretary to explore the possibility of getting funds from Sports Authority of India and the Ministry of Sports for this project.

While highlighting the aims and objectives in the presentation, the Equestrian and Equine Development Association emphasised the concept of combining leisure and equestrian projects with focus on promoting equestrian in the region, training in horse riding and promoting Chandigarh as an international tourist destination. The Association assured to extend their partnership in this project.

Latin American Ballroom dance in chandigarh

2008-06-19T02:15:00.000-07:00

Chandigarh, June 19: Punjab, the land of Bhangda and Giddha is now warming up to ball room dancing. While salsa is already quite popular in India, it's now looks the Latin American ballroom dance form is slowly catching up.

In Chandigarh dance enthusiasts are taking training sessions in ballroom dancing. These enthusiasts could not have asked for anything better.

Sikh pilgrim corridor: Ball in India's court

2008-04-19T01:11:00.000-07:00

AMRITSAR: Once again throwing the ball in India's court, Pakistan's newly elected prime minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has told the visiting Sikh leaders that his country had no problem if Indian government allows them to make a corridor between Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib, Pakistan and Dera Baba Nanak, India, located at a distance of about three kilometres.

Sham Singh, former president of Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) told TOI over phone from Lahore on Friday that visiting Sikh leaders from different countries on the occasion of Baisakhi had met Gilani on April 14 and had taken up the issue of corridor with him.

According to Sham Singh, Gilani told them that Pakistan government had no objection if the India government allows construction of the corridor.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his visit to the holy city of Amritsar on September 1, 2004 had assured to take up construction of corridor with the Pakistan government.

Sham Singh said that Sikhs of Pakistan were equally eager to travel to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib and other historical gurdwaras like Dera Baba Nanak and so were Sikhs of India, who wanted to walk up to Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib, where Guru Nanak Dev breathed his last, and return the same day. "It will be a religious wish fulfilled for Sikhs of both countries if the corridor was constructed at the earliest," Sham Singh said.

Pak rejected two pleas

2008-04-19T00:58:00.000-07:00

Giving hope, Rana Abdul Hameed said earlier also, Musharraf had suspended Sarabjit's death warrants for a month. Notably, Kot Lakhpat jail authorities received Sarabjit's death warrants in March after rejection of two clemency pleas in the year 2006 and on March 3, 2008. Sarabjit was scheduled to be hanged on April 1, but following diplomatic pressure, Pakistan government gave him one-month breather and directed the jail authorities to implement the execution warrants on May 1.

Armed with Pakistani visas, Sarabjit's sister Dalbir Kaur said, she along with other family members, would visit Pak on April 23. Quoting her conversation with human right activist Ansar Burney, Dalbir said he had appealed for the suspension of Sarabjit's death warrants for three months. Burney had also assured them about pressurizing Pakistan to convert Sarabjit's death sentence into life imprisonment.

Youth shot by partners over money dispute

2008-04-19T01:12:00.000-07:00

A youth was reportedly gunned down by three persons, who were his business partners, in Asaudha village of Jhajjar district on Friday.

Sources said two of the partners had pulled out of the business and there was some financial dispute among them, which seemingly led to the murder.

The victim, Ranbir, a resident of Bahrana village, along with Yashwant and Yashvir, both residents of Asaudha village, were partners in a JCB machine firm in Pithoragarh in Uttar Pradesh.

They decided to part ways some time ago and Yashwant reportedly agreed to pay Rs 4.85 lakh to both of them. He reportedly called up Ranbir on Thursday to come to his village to collect the amount on Friday.

However, they were settling their issue when an argument started among them over the financial transaction in which Yashwant fired at Ranbir.

He was rushed to the civil hospital in Bahadurgarh, where he died later. The police has registered a case against Yashwant and his two other accomplices - Yashraj and Ramphal - who continue to abscon

Tata Motors, Punjab govt form jt venture for automotive school

2008-05-03T02:18:00.001-07:00

In a joint venture with the Tata Motors, the Punjab Government will set up a modern automotive and driving skill institute in Mukatdar district. The State Institute of Automotive and Driving Skills (SIADS) will be set up in a joint venture between Tata Motors and the state Transport Department in Mahuana village at a cost of Rs 13 crore, a spokesman said here on Friday.

The government would provide 14 acres to set up the SIADS, which would be run by a registered society with equal number of representatives from Tata Motors and the government.

A high-level team from Tata Motors held discussions with Transport Department officials in this regard yesterday. The team, led by Senior General Manager A S Puri, presented the proposed institute's rules, syllabus and funding pattern.

Good news on price-front

2008-05-03T02:10:00.000-07:00

Wheat prices are unlikely to shoot up with Food Corporation of India (FCI) appearing to head towards procuring more grain than expected from the wheat bowl of the country - Punjab and Haryana.

According to indications, this year other states too would contribute more than the target to the central pool. Also, as per information, the private traders have not bought much wheat, such that they could hoard it later.

FCI has already achieved its procurement target of 150 lakh metric tonnes (MTs) this year till Thursday. With active procurement season still on, the FCI is expected to gather at least 25 to 30 lakh MTs, given the wheat ‘mandi’ arrival trends.

The procurement was just 82.4 lakh MTs till May 1 last year, which was just around 53.5% of this year’s procurement. With the prospects of the wheat procurement touching 180 lakh metric tonnes- highest in the last five years, food security is ensured, albeit for this election year. Already, the Centre has announced that foodgrain situation would be comfortable and there won’t be any need to import wheat this year to meet the PDS and food-related welfare schemes requirements.

During his visit to oversee the procurement arrangements last month, union agriculture and food minister Sharad Pawar had set a target of 80 lakh MTs for Punjab and 40 for Haryana. Both the states too have already crossed their targets with Punjab collecting 62.9 lakh MTs and Haryana 46.5 lakh MTs till date. And both the states have together contributed in the vicinity of 84% of the total wheat to central pool. In fact, he could not have expected more from these two neighbouring states, which have been described as food basket of India.

Fortunately for the FCI, the traders were shy of lifting wheat in both these states. While their share in Punjab was 2.5% (2.12 lakh MTs), the traders' share was just around 1%. BKU president BS Mann said the big players had been banned to enter Punjab and Haryana markets to leave the field wide open for the FCI. However, the traders say they were reluctant to lift wheat, apprehending that the government would resort to strong-arm tactics like fixing limits on stocks, said RS Cheema of arthiya association.

However, traders confide that since there was little scope for speculation in view of last years' experience and also the government indication of effective intervention even it it involved huge imports at prohibitive cost during the election year had dissuaded them not to go for big purchase of wheat. Perhaps, they sensed that the production was very high and realised the futility of buying for speculation.

Interestingly, other states too have contributed substantially to the central pool compared to last two years.

Will the ban hit Harbhajan's Hummer plans?

2008-05-01T09:44:00.000-07:00

What do errant Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh [Images] and the late West Indian fast bowling great Malcolm Marshall have in common?

Not much, you would guess, save for the obvious -- both being international bowlers of repute.

But there is more. Both belong to the 'counting your chickens before they are hatched' club; and, in both cases, high priced luxury cars were involved.

Clueless? A bit of cricketing history from the 80s is involved, and also something more current.

Back in 1983, India had shocked the world by reaching the final of the Prudential World Cup at Lord's. But skittled out for 183 before the end of their allotted 60 overs by the devastating West Indies [Images] fast bowlers, it was surely only a matter of time before their mighty batting took over. Nothing, it appeared, could stop Clive Lloyd's [Images] Caribbeans from lifting their third straight World Cup crown.

So confident was Marshall of victory that just before the final was played, on June 25, he put a down payment on a BMW [Images] car.

The rest, of course, is cricket history!

Wrote Marshall in his autobiography, Marshall Arts: "I was sure we were going to win that World Cup. In fact, I was so positive about the outcome that I had even ordered a new BMW car on the misguided belief that I could pay for it out of my winnings. What utter folly! I cannot now comprehend my arrogance and stupidity...

"To say I was in a relaxed mood [after India's innings] would be an understatement. I could visualise myself sitting behind the wheel of that flashy sports car and I hardly paid much attention to the cricket when we went out to get those 184 runs in the 60 overs available to us. Others were in a similar state of mind; there was no way we could fail."

Fail they did, as India romped home by 43 runs under the canny captaincy of Kapil Dev [Images]. And the legend of 'Kapil's Dev-ils' was born.

So what about Harbhajan, banned for the rest of the IPL after the infamous 'slapgate' at Mohali on Friday?

Well, shortly after the Indian team returned from Australia after clinching the CB ODI tri-series, the off spinner was asked by a television channel reporter what he planned to do with the whopping $850,000 (app. Rs. 3.4 crore) he had been paid to join the Mumbai Indians franchise at the IPL auction.

A beaming Harbhajan announced he was going to buy a Hummer, that tank-like vehicle that is a rage in the United States and the world.

The latest Hummer mode, the 2008 H3 is listed between $32,000 (Rs 12.80 lakh) and $39,000 (Rs 15.60 lakh). But since there is no dealership in India, the import duty he would have to pay on bringing in such a vehicle would be double the actual cost of the car itself.

Asked why a Hummer, Harbhajan proudly claimed that it would be the only one on the streets of Jalandhar, his home town, and though he had always wanted one, he could now afford it thanks to his IPL auction price!

Harbhajan's banning has cost him almost Rs 2.6 crore after playing just three matches and being paid for only two games. His entire match fee for the Mohali encounter has been docked.

Punjab Assembly passes supplementary demands

2008-04-16T05:25:00.000-07:00

The Punjab Vidhan Sabha today passed the supplementary demands, totalling Rs 1274.49 crore for the current financial year ending March 31.

These demands pertaining to various departments were passed by voice vote. Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal speaking after moving the Appropriation Bill in the House said this year budget estimates were of about Rs 30,000 crore while the supplementary demands exceeded this amount.

He said the demands included a subsidy of Rs 840 crore to the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB), while the remaining amount pertaining to different departments was very negligible.

The demands cover 19 grants and involve gross additional expenditure of 1274.50 crore, which comprises Rs 1195.80 crore on the revenue account and Rs 78.70 crore capital account, he added.

After taking into account the related receipts and recoveries, these demands will involve a net additional outgo of Rs 1157.22 crore from the Consolidated Fund of the state, the Minister said.

The demands were then passed without any discussion and thereafter the House adjourned for the day. The Finance Minister will present the annual Budget on March 17.

Mohali

2008-02-22T05:19:00.000-08:00

Mohali district is one of the twenty districts in the state of Punjab in North-West India. It is the most recently created district in the state of Punjab introduced in 2006.

Mohali (Punjabi: ਮੋਹਾਲੀ, mōhālī) is a city adjacent to Chandigarh, 18th District in Punjab, India. It is officially named after the eldest son of Guru Gobind Singh, Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar (SAS Nagar). It along with Chandigarh and Panchkula form a part of the Chandigarh Tricity. It was earlier a part of the Rupnagar District, and was carved out into a separate district in the recent years.

Panchkula

2008-02-22T05:21:00.001-08:00

Panchkula (Hindi: पंचकुला़, Punjabi: ਪੰਚਕੁਲਾ) is a planned city in Panchkula District, Haryana, India. It is a satellite city of the Union Territory of Chandigarh. The Chandimandir Cantonment is also located in Panchkula city. There are four towns in the district named Panchkula, Pinjore, Kalka and Raipur Rani. The only Hill station in Haryana called Morni is also in this District. The estimated population of Panchkula city, in 2006, is 2,00,000. Panchkula and Mohali (in Punjab) are two satellite cities of Chandigarh. These three cities are collectively known as Chandigarh Tricity. The origin of the name Panchkula is based on the five irrigation canals (or kuls as they were called, making it Panch Kul of five canals) that take water from the Ghaggar in the uphill section and distribute it from Nada Sahib to Mansa Devi. The Nada canal has now been eroded by the river and most of the kul's pass through the cantonement of Chandimandir towards Mansa Devi. The canals are a beautiful example of community property and are maintained by the villagers along the way, with distribution days decided. The canals were made by a ruler in the past, and follow the contours to take water to levels much higher than the river at the same spot

Chandigarh Name

2008-04-11T10:02:00.000-07:00

Chandigarh City News reflects factual part of the city in online latest news and views from politics, sports, crime, education, etc. Chandi (Goddess of Power) + Garh (Fortress), Chandigarh, independent India's first planned city is also known for planning & architecture, quality of life, high educational level, pollution-free environment, low crime rate, and aware & active citizens is the capital of two Indian States, Punjab and Haryan

demand for making Chandigarh the sole capital of Punjab

2008-04-09T04:19:00.000-07:00

CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal Monday reiterated the demand for making Chandigarh the sole capital of Punjab.

After the meeting with Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Vijender Jain at a function organised at the high court premises, Badal said Punjab was the only state in the country not having its own sole capital after reorganisation.

While interacting with the media after the function organised by the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association, Badal elaborated as a matter of principle, the parent state retained the original capital after reorganisation, while another capital was set up for the new-born state.

The chief minister added that a separate high court for Haryana was not an issue at the current stage. Earlier during the function, Badal presented a cheque of Rs 1 crore to the Association as Punjab’s share towards the corpus of Rs 5 crore setup for the welfare of lawyers.

Addressing the gathering, Badal said lawyers were the “officers of the court” and had a great responsibility towards the success of the judicial system. He also exhorted the legal fraternity to discharge their duties with professional commitment, dedication and sincerity in the larger public interest.

He lauded the high court’s pioneering role in setting up the first mobile court in Punjab at Talwara, besides unique initiative for upgrading the infrastructure in the judicial complexes across the state

He assured the Chief Justice that the state government would provide all financial assistance and cooperation for the construction of judicial complexes and lawyers’ chambers in the state.

Chandigarh

2008-02-22T05:01:00.001-08:00

The quality of life in Chandigarh has absolutely no match. The union territory of Chandigarh, India serves as the capital city of the twin states of Punjab and Haryana. The credit for the awesome designing of the city goes to a French architect named Le Corbusier. The city has been named after mother Chandi, the goddess of power. It is in the dedication of the Goddess Chandi that Chandi mandir was set up.

The city is known for its beautiful gardens, especially the rose garden. There is a unique garden in Chandigarh named rock garden, which showcases exquisite artwork made by using industrial and urban wastes like porcelain, forks, metal wires, play marbles, auto parts & broken bangles etc. There are lot of places to explore in and around Chandigarh like Sukhna Lake (manmade), Leisure Valley, City Center, Museum of evolution of life, city museum, Bougainvillea Park, Gurdwara Nada Sahib, Mansa Devi Shrine and many more